Caesar's War Tactics

Our overarching topic is the battle tactics employed by Julius Caesar. Within that, we also researched battle formations, combat styles, and strategies to steal supplies. War was an essential part of Julius Caesar's life including most notably the Gallic Wars. As we researched, it is clear that battle tactics in ancient Roman times greatly vary from those used today. Stealth and patience was not a main Roman tactic; common tactics for them included attacking the enemy head on and risking their lives much quicker. Had they waited and held back, rather than constantly sacrificing the front lines, lives could have potentially been saved. However, the Roman's had many battle formations used at the time to protect as many soldiers as possible. While such strategies would not be as effective in modern day, they seemed to have success during ancient times.

Battle tactics in Roman times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhSc_wIofyM

Battle tactics now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X3NwEAM8c4

There are five main Roman battlefield positions.

Wedge Formation: The Roman's had a  line of soldiers in the back row and a triangle formation in the front to provide concentration to the center in order to could smash through the enemy
Single Line Defense: This was simply an extended line of soldiers.
Cannae Tactic: The formation had a weak center on purpose so that all of the outside soldiers could attack.
Manniple Channels: The Roman's would leave room between rows of soldiers so the enemy would come through them and be surrounded by both sides.
Strong Right Flank: This formation focused on a strong right flank to concentrate on the enemy's left flank. The Roman's would then sneak and attack from the back.
Protected Flank: This strategy is different, as the army is psychically protected by a natural barrier, such as mountain's, rather than forming a human barrier.

Less popular formations include the following. 

Testudo (Turtle) Formation: Roman's would resemble a turtle-like form of protection, forming a square completely covered with shield both around and above. However, such a tight formation caused the soldier's to cover little ground. 

Orbis Formation: The soldier's would form a circle shape with shield covering all sides. At the center of the circle would be the officer, who was fully protected by outside soldiers. This was only used when soldiers were detached from a smaller unit or when encircled by the enemy.

There are three combat styles used depending on the situation. 

Hand to Hand: Hand to Hand contact was typically only used after the release of missile type weapons. During the chaos and damage that ensues after, such a strategy is less dangerous than had it been done during open fire. Such fighting also included the use of swords and shields. 

Acute Shock: This strategy entails fighting the enemy in short and painful bursts. Rather than quickly fighting until death, enemies would battle for a period of time and then draw back to collect themselves. As they waited, other soldiers repeated the same process. The idea was such a long process eventually becomes mentally and physically draining for the enemy. 

War Machines: This tactic relied on heavy firing of both machines and balls of fire. After the attack the Roman's would then advance forward in lines, continuing as each front line got taken down. Eventually, they would gain on the enemy. 

Roman's also had specific ways of stealing the enemies resources. They first strategy used would be to attack the enemy resource location and grab as many of their resources as they could. However, often times it was not this simple. Roman soldiers also had a way of intercepting enemy supplies while in transit. The soldiers would locate the enemy's main supply place and set up a stopping point, so when the enemy soldiers stopped, the Roman's would raid the supplies. Finally, the soldiers could resort to the most violent of strategies. The soldiers would surround a major supply place, such as a town, and cut off all outside contact. This eventually led to an enemy surrender. The Roman's would then quickly build a wall around the place to ensure security. From there, the enemies inside the walls would either surrender or be killed. 

Overall, the different strategies employed by Roman armies were very interesting. The most fascinating part of the Roman army was the neat and structured formations. To walk and approach the enemy while staying in formation and closing all gaps truly takes skill. Many of the strategies mentioned above were used by Caesar and his army during the Gallic Wars. For our product, Jen and I made a play book, further illustrating the purpose and details of each strategy. We discuss a major battle during the Gallic Wars that went wrong and "re-create" the battle using tactics that we have developed ourselves. While the tactics mentioned above show clear skill and thought, Jen and I have learned that all tactics can be improved, which is what our product shows. 

https://docs.google.com/a/student.egsd.net/document/d/14OdDjlaOO3saOdn0NdkrnhrgO2WgrfugXm-F4h1x8k8/edit

Sources 

Cavazzi, Franco. "The Orb." The Roman Empire. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.

Wilson, Andy. "The Romans." The Classics Pages. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.

Swain, George R. The Classic Journal. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

"The War in Gaul." The Gallic Wars. N.p., 05 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.

Morris, Graham. "Julius Caesar, Man, Soldier and Tyrant." Battlefield Anomalies. N.p., 25 Mar. 2014.       Web. 17 Dec. 2014.